Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1887-08-04
WOMAN'S DEPARTMENT.
WOMEN At WORK.

WOMEN At WORK.
What American Women Are Doln. To-
wards Earning Their Own Llyius-So,n&
Interesting Facts and Figares.
From lengthy and able article by
Ada c. Sweet, in the Chicago Magazine,
on American women as breadwinners.
We condense the following:
The census of 1880 gives the number
of women and girls working at ..sain-
full occupations" as 2.647,157. OF
these women 5S4,9o0 are agricultural
laborers. 526.S34 being employed in
the old slave States, working in cotton
and rice fields; and on corn, tobacco,
rice and cane plantations. These agri-
cultural laborers in the South are all
cOlored women. and besides them there
are 62,648 colored women working
in cotton factories, sorghum mills, to-
bacco curing, and manufacturing es-
Establishments and in all stores, ware
houses and yards in the South where
| ACdNN lsloOl ID hCCNCus
To the American. glance at these
dusky thousands suggests many
thoughts and many hard problem.
In the North there are 5.O66 women
employed as agricultural laborers
working in fields AMI gardens at
farming. Bookkeeping. dairy work.
fruit and berry raising, and vineyards
and hopyards.
There are 10S, 1893 laundresscs, and
as before stated, 93S, $40 domestic serv-
; ants. The cotton, silk and wooden
mills employ 1872, 26S women. Boot
and shoe factories, 2I,OO7. Clerks.
saleswomen and accountants in stores
number 1881. Dressmakers and
milliners are given as numbering 1884,
O26. Under this head doubtless many
plain sewing women are counted.
In great many branches of manu-
featuring women are employed in
large numbers. Thousands work in
establishments for making agricultural
implements; in book binderies and
printing Offices. Thousands work for
carpet-makers, cigar-makers, clock
and watch-makers. confectioners. cor
set makers, glove-makcrs, gold and
silver workers. harness and saddle
makers, hat and cap makers, straw
workers, and so on in all the trades
and occupatiors.
Women are at work BY thousands as
book-keepers and accountants. and as
operators in telegraph and telephone
offices. Women are acting as COM
mercial travellers, and rs book agents
as commercial brokers, bankers, rail-
way officials and employees, packers,
manufacturers and officials of manu-
featuring companies. There are A.
465 commercial dealers and traders,
1924 nurses, $4,000 clearinghouse
keepers, and 2,136 hotel-keepers.
Women are architects, chemists. assay
ers. dentists, designers, draughtsmen.
engravcrs and inventors. One thou
sand six hundred and fifteen are en-
ployers of charitable institutions. 288
are professional journalists, 800 are
authors, 2.G61 are artists and teachers
of art, 1920 are actresses. and 1871
arc professional musicians or teachers
of music. 5. 1S4 are Government clerks,
and 2.171 are officers of the Govern
ment There are 2,432 women physi-
clans and surgeons, Is lawyers, and
165 ministers of religion, PIG stock
raiscrs, and Sc, 500 free and independ-
ent farmers and planters.
There are 154, 1915 women teachers,
5000 more women being engaged in
teaching than men.
1t is useless to continue the catalogue
of trades. manufactures, industries and
professions in which women are find
ing means of livelihood. The gates
are wide open, and any work that any
individual woman thinks herself capa-
bic of, she is at liberty to try and
prove success or failure at it, even
as men are trying themselves contin-
ually, and thus proving their power or
limitations.
This great change in the outlook and
opportunities of women has not been
accomplished without great difficulty.
The young woman who goes out in the
world to earn her living now, meets
few of the trials and discOuragements
that hindered every step of the woman
on similar crrand in times within the
memory of many people living. and
not yet old.
The women who first went to work
in the United States Treasury Depart
ment as clerks, walked every morning
and afternoon through crowd of jeer-
ing laughers, who collected at the
doors of the treasury building to see
them come and 60 to and from their
work.
In Boston when women were first
introduced into printing offices as
type-sctters, the printers formed an as
! ISOLATION. of which one of the rules
was that no member should work in
any establishment where women were
employed. :.
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